bummer

bummer¹ loafer, idler

Etymology

The word for a loafer is probably borrowed from German Bummler (“loafer, vagrant”),^[2][3][4][5] an agent noun from bummeln (“to stroll, dawdle, loaf”).^[3][4][2] The OED calls the German origin apparent, and the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English only possible;^[5][6][7] the OED dates the German noun, meaning an unemployed person or vagrant, to 1848.^[5] Weekley says it was originally German student slang.^[8] Etymonline thinks it might be an extension of the British bum, backside, but more probably German, since the earliest uses imitate the English of German immigrants in the United States.^[4] According to Kluge, as cited by Etymonline, the German verb dates from the 17th century, first meant to swing back and forth, and is perhaps connected with baumeln (“to dangle”);^[4] Dictionary.com calls it an expressive verb of uncertain origin.^[3] Schele De Vere's “Americanisms” (1872), quoted by Green's Dictionary of Slang, already derived the word from the German.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

A vagrant or loafer who lives by begging or scrounging: 1855, in the Weekly Oregonian of Portland, where a German speaker says “Ve don’t vant no bummers here!”.^[5][9] Merriam-Webster also dates the word to 1855,^[2] Dictionary.com to 1850–55.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From 1857 the word was used of any worthless or lazy person.^[5] In the American Civil War it was the name for a straggler or deserter, especially a Union soldier who left the ranks to forage and plunder;^[5][2] Etymonline calls it common then for a plundering camp-follower.^[4] From 1872 to 1898 it was also used of an idle or corrupt politician, a hanger-on of a party.^[5] At Yale in 1871 a bummer was a fast young man who went on sprees.^[9] The OED takes the verb bum, to loaf or live by sponging (1857), as a back-formation from this noun, and the noun bum, a tramp (1863), as probably from the verb;^[5] Dictionary.com likewise sees bum as a shortening of or back-formation from bummer.^[3] The later bummer, one who cadges cigarettes or drinks (1948), is formed from that verb.^[5][2] Merriam-Webster also lists under this word a low two-wheeled cart for dragging logs, recorded from 1905, for which the OED gives no origin.^[2][5] The American Heritage Dictionary now marks the senses loafer and beggar as archaic.^[10]

Timeline

• 1855 – a vagrant or loafer who lives by scrounging.^[5][2][9]
• 1857 – a worthless or lazy person.^[5]
• 1861 – in the American Civil War, a straggler or deserter, a soldier who leaves the ranks to forage.^[5]
• 1871 – at Yale, a fast young man.^[9]
• 1872 – a corrupt politician or party hanger-on (obsolete by 1898).^[5]
• 1905 – a two-wheeled vehicle for dragging logs.^[5]
• 1948 – a person who cadges something, such as cigarettes.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic) A loafer or vagrant who lives by begging or scrounging from others.^{[10][5][2][6]}
2. A person who cadges something from others: a bummer of free drinks.^[2][5]
3. In the American Civil War, a soldier who left the ranks to forage or plunder; a straggler.^[5][2]
4. A worthless or lazy person.^[5]
5. A low two-wheeled cart or truck for skidding logs.^[2][5]

bummer² disappointment, bad experience

Etymology tree of bummer²

inherited borrowed derived

English bum

English bummer

Etymology

The word for a disappointing experience is formed from English bum + -er,^[2][3][10] from the adjective bum, bad or worthless, as the OED and Dictionary.com put it with some caution.^[5][3] The OED regards that adjective (1878) as perhaps from the noun bum, a tramp, which it derives in turn from the verb bum, apparently a back-formation from bummer¹, the loafer;^[5] so the word goes back, through these steps, to the first bummer.^[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An unpleasant or disappointing experience: Green's Dictionary of Slang and Merriam-Webster date it to 1966, the year of Hunter S. Thompson's Hell's Angels (“Man, it was a bummer”);^[9][2] the OED cites the same book from 1967.^[5] Dictionary.com dates it 1965–70, Etymonline to 1968.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The word quickly took on the drug-culture sense of a bad reaction to LSD or another hallucinogen, recorded from 1968 in Timothy Leary and Tom Wolfe.^[5][9] The Shorter Oxford also records the senses a mistake and a failure from the mid 20th century,^[6] and Merriam-Webster something of low quality.^[2] From 1973 it was used as an interjection, more often to express sympathy than one's own annoyance.^[5] Slang also made an adjective bummer, depressing (1973), and a verb, of LSD, to give someone a bad trip (1971).^[9]

Timeline

• 1966 – an unpleasant or disappointing experience.^[9][2] The OED's first record is from 1967.^[5]
• 1968 – a bad reaction to a hallucinogenic drug.^[5][9]
• 1971 – verb, of LSD, to give a bad experience.^[9]
• 1973 – interjection, expressing disappointment or sympathy; adjective, depressing.^[5][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (slang) Something disappointing, frustrating or unpleasant: Missing the last train home was a real bummer.^{[10][2][5][6]}
2. (slang) A bad reaction to a hallucinogenic drug; a bad trip.^{[10][2][5][9]}
3. (slang) Something of poor quality; a stinker.^[2]

Interjection

1. (slang) Used to express disappointment or, more often, sympathy: “They cancelled the concert.” “Bummer.”^[5]